Cheshire Phoenix head coach John Coffino says he has been pleased with the response of his players following their BBL Trophy exit at the hands of Plymouth Raiders on Sunday.
Coffino was unhappy with his side's defensive efforts in the 109-100 loss in Devon at the weekend but believes his team have taken heed of that performance and are raring to go ahead of a trip to BBL Championship strugglers Leeds Force tonight (7.30pm).
The fourth-placed Nix, who had been on course to equal a club record that has stood since 2001 had they won against the Raiders, have the chance to keep up the pressure on the leading pack in the BBL with a victory over the force, but New Yorker Coffino is not taking the challenge facing his side lightly.
"They (Leeds) don't have one specific guy that you need to watch, they have a whole group of component parts," said the Nix head coach, whose team haven't tasted defeat in the league since an 87-71 loss at London Lions on November 4.
"Their point guard (James) McCann runs the show for them and they have just added the guy (Sam) Attah from Durham (Wildcats) so they have plenty of quality. They're not a big team but they run their stuff really well and they are very, very well coached.
"They can beat anybody in this league on their day so I will be looking for a complete performance from our guys.
"After the loss to Plymouth I'm very pleased with the way they came to practise over the last three days. We have obviously focused on our defence and we've stressed to them that if they don't turn up and play hard then they can't expect to win games of basketball. It's as simple as that. But the guys have responded well and they're ready for Leeds."
The Nix will have only a day to recover until they suit up once again, with a home league clash against the Sheffield Sharks in the offing at the Northgate Arena on Sunday (5.30pm).
Coffino's men came away with a 95-82 win from their trip to Sheffield on Friday, January 9, but the Nix head coach believes that the victory could have easily been snatched from them had they not found their rhythm late in the game.
"We'll worry about Sheffield once the Leeds game is out of the way with but we know we need to be better than we were when we faced them a couple of weeks ago," he said.
"They have got (Mike) Cook settling in well there now and BJ (Holmes) is shooting the ball well and Mike Tuck is playing well at the moment. We had a great fourth quarter in Sheffield but we didn't play how we know we can. It's been a while away from the Northgate and we have the best fans in the league and the best home court advantage in the BBL. We want to make that count and get on another run."
Coffino is hoping to add another body to his roster before February, with the club looking to a player with a UK passport having used up their allocated US roster changes.
"We've contacted a few guys and we are waiting to hear back from one or two," said Coffino.
"I want to try and get something done pretty quickly as we only have until February to make our move. The sooner I can get a guy in, the sooner he can work with the team and fit into the system here."
